When his son Ibrâhîm was dying, the eyes of the Prophet ﷺ filled with tears.
A companion was surprised to see him weep. He answered: “This is mercy.”
Then he said: “The eye weeps and the heart grieves, and we say only what pleases our Lord.”
The Qur'an tells of Ya'qûb (peace be upon him), separated from his son Yûsuf.
His grief was so deep that, the verse says, his eyes turned white from sorrow.
He said: “I only complain of my suffering and my grief to Allah,
and I know from Allah what you do not know.”
He did not hide his sadness, and he did not pour it out on everyone. He took it to Allah.
The Prophet ﷺ used to ask Allah to protect him from worry and from grief.
Scholars often explain: al-hamm is worry about what is coming, al-hazan is grief over what has passed.
His words: “O Allah, I seek refuge with You from worry and grief, from helplessness and laziness,
from cowardice and miserliness, from the burden of debt and from being overpowered by men.”
It is a dua, not a magic formula. You ask, and you leave the result to Allah.
Those who have believed and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah.
Truly, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.
Tuma'nîna, the word in this book's Arabic title, comes from this verse: a heart that settles.
The verse does not say that sadness disappears. It says where the heart finds rest: with Allah.
There is a sadness that comes and goes. And there is a sadness that stays, and takes the taste out of everything.
If it lasts for weeks, or stops you from living, also speak to a doctor. Seeing one is not a lack of faith.
Faith and care do not compete. You can pray, make dua, and be helped at the same time.
Some days, your heart feels heavy and you cannot say why.
Does that mean your faith is weak?
The Prophet ﷺ wept, Ya'qûb complained to Allah: sadness has a place in faith.
Tonight, learn the dua against worry and grief (al-Bukhârî 6369), and say it once, slowly.